Hey cHEwY gum gums

I know it’s been awhile but I had this idea in my head since Book Week, so I’m still keen to share my thoughts. I love visiting schools. I’ve spent the last seven years, going all around Australia and Asia, making kids laugh in schools big and small. I’ve had a wonderful time, touring tiny towns, exploring sprawling cities and as you can tell from my Instagram, there are some travel perks such as eating burgers and playing video games haha.

But would I still feel the same way in twenty years time?

One of my author friends shared with me that he’s thinking of semi-retiring from school visits. After twenty years, he’s decided to become a full time writer, like for real. He said that he’s just tired of talking about the SAME STUFF AGAIN AND AGAIN.

Now before you say, ‘but you have new books coming out, so shouldn’t you have new stuff to talk about?’, when you do a school talk, you usually talk about your own origins and how you became a writer. That part never changes. Your childhood memories. Your first book you ever read. Your teacher and school days. I know half my talk is dedicated to telling kids about my journey. And yes, he’s right. It’s the same thing over and over again.

I really don’t know if I’ll ever get tired of touring. Perhaps I might. But if I ever did, I’d have to remind myself of a few things. One, apart from teaching, no other job allows me to finish at 3pm or earlier. Two, I get to talk about things I love and make people laugh and Three…well I get to collect ideas for future stories. Yes, it can get tiring, especially when you have a deadline or a few things due. Plus I’ve had my fair share of dud days. But when I’m on a plane full of people in business gear, and I’m there in my Mario hoodie with a 3DS or Switch, I realise that these school visits are a part of why being a writer is still my dream job.

O.W